New England Patriots bring smiles to hundreds of youngsters in Newtown

Richard Gregory

Published 10:17 pm, Saturday, May 18, 2013

NEWTOWN -- It was a chance for the kids of Newtown to be kids again.

A chance to run around with their friends on beautiful spring day and play football or practice a cheer routine without a care in the world.

A chance to come face-to-face with their larger-than-life, pro-football heroes.

And, most importantly, a chance to smile.

Because there is no more beautiful or wonderful sight than to see a child smile, especially in a town where only six months ago, 20 angelic first-graders and six of their brave educators were brutally and senselessly murdered.

In the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, prayers and support have poured into this small town from all over the world, with people willing to do anything and everything to help the community -- its kids in particular -- heal and move forward.

On Saturday at Newtown High School's Blue and Gold Stadium, the New England Patriots football team put smiles on the faces of hundreds and hundreds of kids at its Football For You football and cheerleading clinic. About 30 current and former Patriots players, coaches and cheerleaders participated in the event, which included football and cheerleading clinics for kids aged 6 to 14, as well as other games and activities.

"As a part of the New England community, I think all of us were devastated when we saw what happened here," said Patriots owner Robert Kraft, "and if it can happen in the town of Newtown, it could happen in any city or town in America."

Just moments earlier, Kraft had participated in one of the football drills, playing defensive back and covering one of the youngsters as tight end Rob Gronkowski threw him a pass. The kid tripped over Kraft's feet, prompting the group of onlookers -- and Gronkowski -- to playfully call for a pass interference penalty.

Kraft has close ties to Newtown, as his family purchased Rand-Whitney corrugated container company -- which has a facility on Edmond Road in Newtown -- in 1999.

"We've been down here, we've learned what the people here are like and we have a great affection and affinity for this town," Kraft said. "Unfortunately, when this bad event happened, our parking lot was sort of the meeting grounds for everything going on."

More than 500 youngsters had pre-registered for Saturday's event, and even more registered Saturday at the event. As a result, the field at Blue and Gold Stadium, from end zone to end zone and sideline to sideline, was filled with kids being kids and having fun.

"I hope they leave here with a good experience," Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "They've been through a lot these last couple months. It's the rebuilding process. They'll never be forgotten, but at the same time, these kids are very strong, their families are very strong, the parents out here in the stands are very strong. And hopefully we can come out here and provide a little temporary relief and some smiles."

With two kids of his own, a tragedy like this certainly hit close to home with Mayo.

"You have to just go home and hug you kids," he said. "You never know what's going to happen in this crazy world. At the same time, you have to enjoy each and every moment and take it in stride."

The Sandy Hook tragedy shook the entire world to its core, and the players reacted with the same horror and anguish as everyone else did upon learning of the events that unfolded that day.

"I was obviously very saddened by the news," Mayo added. "My heart went out to the families and the community in general. This is a small town and everyone knows everyone. It's a strong town as well, and they've banded together nicely."

Newtown's collective strength and resolve has been tested -- but certainly not broken -- by the tragedy.

"Out of bad things, good things can happen, and the good here is to see the resilience and the mental toughness and support this community gave to one another," said Kraft. "We saw it in Boston right after the horrible events on Patriots' Day, the same way the community came together."

Events like this one have not so much erased the horrible memories of what happened in December as much as they have helped a grieving community get back on its feet and start moving forward again.

"We're here for them," Patriots long snapper Danny Aiken said of the many kids in attendance. "They bring a smile to your face and they bring a glow. They're here and they want to play, and nothing beats that."

Aiken, coincidentally, was born in New Milford, and his parents both graduated from Newtown High School, his father, Doug, with the Class of 1977 and his mother, Vicki, with the Class of 1974. The family moved out of the area when Aiken was very young -- he played quarterback in high school in Roanoke, Va. -- although he has memories of visiting Connecticut as a kid. He could certainly appreciate the importance of Saturday's event.

"It does resonate a lot, because this is where my family is from, born and raised," Aiken added. "It's significant for me to be here and to be able to be a part of this. It's an honor and a privilege to be here."

This was obviously not the first time a sports team has reached out to its surrounding community to help in times of despair. Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower recalled the deadly tornado outbreak that hit the southern United States in April of 2011 while he was attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Several hundred people were killed as a result of those storms. Hightower and many of his teammates on the Alabama football team helped in the clean-up and recovery efforts in the storms' aftermath.

The Sandy Hook tragedy was different, though. It wasn't a random act of nature. It was cold-blooded murder.

"It's terrifying," Hightower said. "It's a different thing between nature doing something and another human being taking multiple lives. I definitely felt for them."

At the conclusion of the clinic, Kraft presented Newtown Youth Football and Cheerleading president Sean Dunn -- a New York Jets fan -- with a No. 1 Patriots jersey with the word Newtown embroidered across the back. Kraft then invited Dunn to one of the two games this upcoming season between the Jets and Patriots -- on the condition that he wear the jersey to the game. Newtown High football coach Steve George then presented Kraft with a Nighthawks football jersey.

"This is beyond anything I could've imagined," said Dunn. "What the Patriots have done is just fantastic."

Dunn has four sons -- ages 16, 14, 12 and 10 -- and all four attended Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"It hit very close to home, and you try to move on with your life, and that's what we've done as a community," Dunn said. "We've stayed strong, and with the help of people like the New England Patriots, it makes things better."

So, could there have possibly been some future Patriots among the hundreds of young players on the field Saturday?

"We think so," Kraft said with a grin. "We had our scouts checking it out."